Sanford To Consider Adding To Paving Plan

SANFORD — With about $750,000 in city road paving and reconstruction already planned, the city's planning and engineering director is recommending that another $625,000 be spent on paving.

Commissioners will consider the recommendation when they meet Monday.

The commission in June authorized more than $500,000 in repaving to be paid with gasoline tax revenue. Some leveling work and about $115,000 for reconstruction of McCracken Road brings the cost of planned work to $654,250. The city also is allocating $95,000 to reconstruct and pave First Street, west of the current streetscape project to French Avenue. Eventually the streetscape will be extended four blocks west from Oak Avenue to Laurel Avenue and one block to the east from Palmetto Avenue to Sanford Avenue.

Including interest, the city had $974,950.27 in gasoline tax funds as of Sept. 30, said Bill Simmons, engineering and planning director. He is recommending that $125,000 for another 25 street paving projects be added to the contract with Orlando Paving Co.

That will still leave about $100,000 in gasoline tax funds. Simmons this week recommended that the city combine that money with $400,000 in reserve funds to finance an additional $500,000 in paving.

The city has reserved the $400,000 in case Seminole County's cities had not reached an agreement to release the $5 million in gasoline tax money that had been held in escrow. The county and the cities in August worked out a compromise on how the 6-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax would be distributed.

By adding the $400,000 to its planned road spending, Sanford will improve its chance of getting a larger share of the gasoline tax in future years since the distribution formula favors cities that add non-gas tax money to road spending, Simmons said.

The additional $500,000 in paving would help the city catch up a backlog of repair and preventive maintenance paving, he said. The city would seek bids later this month for work to start in early 1987.